Titanic history includes famous names, recipes
Even before Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane and Kathy Bates set sail in the 1997 film epic “Titanic,” directed by James Cameron, this ill-fated voyage already had been the focus of many previous screen incarnations.
From the 1996 made-for-TV miniseries starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Peter Gallagher and Marilu Henner, to the 1953 big-screen rendition featuring a young Robert Wagner, Indiana actor-claim-to-fame Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck and Thelma Ritter, this story continues to fascinate many.
And of course, one of the most famous film roles the late, great Debbie Reynolds was associated with, is when she played the title character in the 1964 MGM film “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” based on the book of the 1960 stage musical of the same name written by Richard Morris with the song score by Meredith Willson.
Reynolds was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, but lost to Julie Andrews for her portrayal of “Mary Poppins.”
Unlike a flying nanny, Reynolds’ role was based on the actual real woman, Margaret “Molly” Brown, who fell into a fortune and, later, survived the 1912 sinking of the Titanic.
While many of the other wealthy passengers made their way to the lifeboats before everyone else, Brown was seen helping as many women and children as possible to the safety of boats as they quickly filled. Brown, was later played by actress Kathy Bates in James Cameron’s 1997 film, and before that, by the aforementioned Thelma Ritter in the 1953 version.
April 15 marked the 109th anniversary of the early morning (2:20 a.m.) tragic sinking of the Titanic after it struck an iceberg.
The ship descended below the depths of the cold Atlantic in less than three hours after it struck.
More than 1,500 passengers perished while there were just more than 700 survivors who made it to the 19 lifeboats.
Third class suffered greatly, as only 174 of about 710 passengers survived.
Last week, an elegant, soldout dinner in the ballroom of the Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster hosted by Chef Joe Trama and his team feted 130 feasting guests who dined on a close replica of the sumptuous First Class dining room menu served to passengers earlier that fateful evening. I was honored to serve as the evening’s guide and emcee, as guests enjoyed the music of violinist Kamen Vatchev and Karin Jurek playing the grand piano, and leisurely strolled an extensive exhibition of Titanic replica china and period clothing and décor from the turn-of-the-century era.
The menu included creamy mushroom and barley soup, a Spring greens and asparagus salad with champagne vinaigrette dressing, a main entrée of tender, rare roast beef tenderloin served with creamed carrots and tiny new potatoes, and for dessert, Bavarian custard filled eclairs with fresh berries and whipped cream. (The head table where I sat with my parents also had the bonus of an early added fifth course appetizer: chilled Blue Point raw oysters on the half shell, another delicacy that had been served that evening more than a century ago.)
In addition to Molly Brown, other famous wealthy First Class passengers on the Titanic that night included millionaire John Thayer, vice president of Pennsylvania Railroad Company; Isidor and Ida Straus, the couple who owned Macy’s Department Store; Charles Melville Hays, president of Grand Trunk Railroad; journalist and mystery novel author Jacques Futrelle; Margaret Edith Graham, heiress of American Can Company and the Dixie Cups fortune; and of course, millionaire John Jacob Astor, whose family built the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City and whose worth at the time was more than $2.2 billion in today’s dollars.
Astor opted not to board a lifeboat, staying behind of the ship with his terrier dog “Kitty,” but he assured his pregnant second wife Madeleine did find her way to a lifeboat, along with her private nurse and personal maid.
There is often confusion about which of the “Astor heirs” was the famously wealthy third husband of New York socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor. This was William Vincent Astor, whose father was indeed the late John Jacob Astor, who died when the Titanic sunk.
However, he too was a son and heir, but from the deceased Astor’s marriage to his first wife, Ava, whom he divorced in 1910 prior to his marriage to Madeleine.
When Brooke died at age 105 on Aug. 13 (my birthday) in 2007, she left behind an estate valued at $192 million, with the bulk of it left to charities and her foundations, funds, Central Park and education, much to the chagrin of her only son Anthony and his third wife Charlene, all of which later resulted in a famous court case.
After Brooke’s death from pneumonia at her home Briarcliff Manor in New York, media coverage reported that during much of her final year, she existed on a diet of her favorite fare, which mostly including “creamed peas.” I would expect she would have loved the ages-old and velvety decadence of the creamy mushroom and barley soup recipe customized by Chef Joe Trama for last week’s Titanic Tribute menu.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs. org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.
Titanic Tribute Menu Creamy Mushroom and Barley Soup
Makes 4 servings
½ cup pearl barley
4 ½ cup chicken stock 1 shallot diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks
2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons butter
8 cups Crimini mushroom
1 -2 tablespoons chicken base, 1 teaspoon season salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, black pepper to taste.
2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour cooked to a blond roux stage for thickening
Bushmills Irish whiskey and cream (optional) garnish
Fresh dill and fresh parsley
Directions:
1. Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven or similar soup pot over medium heat.
2. Add shallots, carrots, celery and cook stirring often.
3. Add mushrooms, and seasonings and then add chicken stock bring to boil.
4. Add barley, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. When barley is softened. (If soup is not already thickened enough from the cooked barley, add a little roux, a little at a time until the right thickness.)
6. Add herbs and finish with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve ladled into bowls and finish with a swirl of heavy cream and splash of Irish whiskey.